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5 Easy Steps To Retaining Women To Trades, Science and Technology Classrooms

Topic: Self Improvement Associations and OrganizationsFeaturing Donna MilgramPublished March 21, 2008

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Would you like to make sure that the women in your classes nsuccessfully complete the course? Did you once have a female nstudent but she dropped out after the first class? Do you find nthat many of your female students come with less experience than ntheir male counterparts? If you answered yes to any of the above nquestions this fact sheet is for you.nnStep One: Bridge the Technology DividennThe reality is that overall women tend to have less experience nwith technology than their male counterparts, whether we are ntalking about computer technology or auto technology. nInstructors who are successful in retaining female students nrecognize that they need to start with the basics during the nbeginning of the semester so that the less experienced students nget the basic building blocks needed to be successful (this is nhelpful to male students missing those basics too). So that nmight mean an introduction to tool identification and use or the nbasics of navigating the Internet. Instructors should also nprovide open lab time for students in need of additional hands-non experience. If possible, staff the lab with a senior female nstudent, women are often more comfortable asking questions of nother women in a male-dominated field. For some best practice ncase study examples that illustrate these concepts look at the nCisco Gender Initiative's Best Practice Case Studies developed nby the Institute for Women in Trades, Technology and Science n(IWITTS) (1).nnStep Two: Collaborative Learning in the Technology ClassroomnnMany female students lack confidence in the classroom and this nnegatively impacts their learning ability. There are several nreasons for this: first, overall, male students have more nexperience with technology, especially hands-on labs; second, nmale students tend to boast of their accomplishments while nfemales tend to think that they are doing poorly even when they nare doing well; third, male students tend to dominate in nclassroom discussions and lab activities. nnTechnology instructors can overcome these factors by using ncollaborative group methods in the classroom designed to nincrease student learning, interaction and support of each nother. Some examples of these group methods are: 1) grade nstudents in teams as well as individually; 2) put female nstudents in positions of leadership in the classroom; 3) assign nstudents to teams or pairs rather than leaving it up to them to npick their partners; 4) have female students work together in nlabs during the beginning of the semester; 5) enlist the help of nwhiz kids with the teaching of their fellow students, providing nthem with a constructive outlet for their talents.nnStep Three: Contextual LearningnnThe recent adage that women are from Mars and men are from Venus nis alive and well in the technology classroom -- women and men nhave different learning styles when it comes to technology. Most nmen are excited by the technology itself -- how fast it is, the nnumber of gigabytes, the size of the engine. Most women are nengaged by how the technology will be used -- how quickly the nnetwork will run, how much information can be stored, how far nthe vehicle can go without refueling. These Mars and Venus ndifferences have implications for the class curriculum: female nstudents will better understand technical concepts in the nclassroom when they understand the context for them. Don't front nload your computer programming classes with writing computer ncode with no context for this if you want to retain most of your nfemale students. For more information on this subject including noff-the-shelf curriculums for teaching contextual technology nread IWITTS's Making Math and Technology Courses User Friendly nto Women and Minorities: An Annotated Bibliography (2).nnStep Four: The Math FactornnMost technology courses require an understanding of applied nmath. Many women and girls are fearful of math and have had nnegative experiences in the math classroom. This phenomenon is nso common that courses and curriculum on math anxiety for women nare in place around the country. The key to success in teaching nmost females math is -- like technology -- contextual and group nlearning. Fortunately many off-the-shelf curriculums exist for nteaching math contextually, see IWITTS's bibliography linked nabove. Many technology courses at the two-year college level nhave math prerequisites that are unrelated to the technology ncoursework and omit the applied math that will be needed. nTechnology courses should only require math that is relevant to ntheir courses and/or develop contextual math modules to add to ntheir curriculum. nnStep Five: Connect the Women in Your Classes with Other WomennnA female mentor or peer support network can help your students nstay the course when they are feeling discouraged and can nprovide helpful tips for succeeding in a predominantly male nenvironment. There are many on-line and real-time associations nfor women in technology, connect your female students to them. nSee the Career Links on WomenTechWorld.org for a list of some of nthese networks. Also, WomenTechTalk on WomenTechWorld.org -- a nfree listserv for women in technology and students -- provides a ncombination of support and expert career panels to it's over 200 nmembers from across the U.S.nnBibliography: nn(1) nCisco Gender Initiative's Best Practice Case Studiesnn(2) nMaking Math and Technology Courses User Friendly nto Women and Minorities: An Annotated BibliographynnDonna Milgram is founder and Executive Director of the National nInstitute for Women in Trades, Technology & Science (IWITTS). nShe is currently the Principal Investigator of the CalWomenTech nProject, a $2 million National Science Foundation grant awarded nin April 2006. She was also the Principal Investigator of the nWomenTech Project, funded by the National Science Foundation, nwhich had a goal of increasing the number of women enrolled and nretained in technology education in three national community ncollege demonstration sites. She led IWITTS's partnership with nthe Cisco Learning Institute (CLI)/Cisco Gender Initiative. Ms. nMilgram produced the interactive teacher training video "School-nto-Work: Preparing Young Women for High Skill, High Wage nCareers." Ms. Milgram's recent conference presentations include: nthe NSF ATE Conference "Recruiting Women to Science, Technology, nEngineering & Math" (2004) and California Educating for Careers nConference in 2003.

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Donna Milgram is founder and Executive Director of the National Institute for Women in Trades, Technology & Science (IWITTS), a Califo ia-based national nonprofit organization dedicated to nproviding training, e-strategies, publications and technical nassistance nationally to the education system and employers to nintegrate women into technology and law enforcement careers. She nhas developed extensive resource publications, produced an ninstructional video, and conducted hundreds of workshops on nrecruiting and retaining women in technology education and nrelated occupations at national WomenTech workshops, national nand state conferences and for state, regional and local neducational institutions. Ms. Milgram is currently the Principal Investigator of the CalWome Tech Project, a $2 millio National Science Foundation ngrant awarded in April 2006. Over a five-year period, IWITTS nwill work with ten Califo ia community colleges' emerging ntechnology centers to assist them in recruiting and retaining nwomen and will disseminate the results statewide and nationally. Ms. Milgram was also the Principal Investigator of the WomenTech Project, funded by the National Science Foundation, which had a ngoal of increasing the number of women enrolled and retained in ntechnology education in three national community college ndemonstration sites. Key accomplishments included: doubling the nnumber of females enrolled in the Community College of Rhode Island's technology programs ranging from telecommunications ntechnology to computer networking technology to electronics ntechnology; development of a WomenTech section of the three nparticipating community college's Web sites; launching of nwww.womentechworld.org,nan online community for women technicians and students with content of over 50 role models and na WomenTechTalk ListServ, Message Board and E-Mentoring site; nand the successful piloting of "Tech Readiness" courses designed nto bridge the digital divide. The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) WomenTech site received a "Best Practice Award" nfor the Project from the American Association for Women in Community Colleges at their national conference in Dallas, Texas nin March 2003. Ms. Milgram led IWITTS's partnership with the Cisco Learning Institute (CLI)/Cisco Gender Initiative via e-research, e-nstrategies, e-training and consultation on marketing, nevaluation, and e-support. Ms. Milgram developed the majority of nthe content of the domestic best practice portion of the CLI Gender Initiative Web site, click here to go to their site. Accomplishments of the Gender Initiative Project include: online nfocus groups with Academy Instructors and a focus group report; ncase study profiles of 11 best practice sites; FAQs on nrecruiting and retaining females to Cisco Networking Academy Programs; two online training sessions for Academy instructors non recruiting and retaining females, and profiles of female role nmodels. Ms. Milgram produced the interactive teacher training nvideo "School-to-Work: Preparing Young Women for High Skill, High Wage Careers" and accompanying train-the-trainer npublications in 1997 as part of the School-To-Work: Women in Science, Engineering & Math (SEM) National Science Foundation Project. Ms. Milgram was Principal Investigator for this joint neffort with the North Carolina School-to-Work Office and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. This Project nwas funded for field-test only, and since that time Ms. Milgram nhas conducted hundreds of national and statewide train-the-ntrainer workshops and personally trained thousands of educators non recruiting and retaining women and girls for technology noccupations on a fee-for-service basis. Ms. Milgram's recent conference presentations include: the NSF ATE Conference "Recruiting Women to Science, Technology, Engineering & Math" (2004), Califo ia Educating for Careers Conference in 2003; League for Innovation in the Community College, pre-conference Learning Center Course at the national IT conference, workshop at annual conference in 2002; Association for Gender Equity in Leadership Education, 2002; Cisco Networkers National Conferences in 2001; Women and the New Economy, US Department of Labor, Region IX Women's Bureau, 2001. Keynotes: Cisco Learning Institute National Conference -- Workforce of the Future, 1999; National Coalition on Sex Equity nin Education, 1998. Ms. Milgram served as an advisory member of the IT Advisory Consortium, IT Career Cluster Initiative, of the Education Development Center; and is a former board member of the National Association of Private Industry Councils; the Montgomery County n(MD) Private Industry Council; the Federal Committee on Apprenticeship; Girls Inc. of the Island City (where she also nchaired the Board Development Committee); the Technology Committee of the Alameda Chamber of Commerce; and the editorial Advisory committee of the Skills USA's newsletter. In 1992 Ms. Milgram testified before Congress as an expert nwitness on sexual harassment of women in nontraditional noccupations. In 1993 she testified before Congress on the School- To-Work Opportunities Act about the absence of young women from nmany U.S. Department of Labor school-to-work demonstration nsites. Ms. Milgram spent a year on Capitol Hill in the office of Congresswoman Connie Morella (MD), as a Congressional Fellow on Women and Public Policy. She developed two bills on nnontraditional employment. The Women in Apprenticeship Occupations and Nontraditional Occupations Act (PL 102-350), nauthored by Ms. Milgram on behalf of Congresswoman Morella, was nsigned into law in 1992. The Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science, Engineering, and Technology Development Act (PL 105-255) was signed into law in October 1998. A nationally recognized expert on women and workforce ndevelopment issues, Ms. Milgram has been quoted in The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune and numerous education njou als and has appeared on CNN, Fox Morning News and C-Span. Ms. Milgram was one of two guest experts on an hour long program non National Public Radio for The Merrow Report-"Girls and Technology: Closing the Gender Gap." Ms. Milgram graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania and received a Masters degree from the University nof Maryland, where she was valedictorian for her school. Additional Resources: nNational Institute for Women in Trades, Technology & SciencennWomenTech and CalWome Tech ProjectsnnWomenTechStore

5 Easy Steps To Retaining Women To Trades, Science and Technology Classrooms

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